US20090147076A1 - Wide angle HDTV endoscope - Google Patents
Wide angle HDTV endoscope Download PDFInfo
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- US20090147076A1 US20090147076A1 US12/315,686 US31568608A US2009147076A1 US 20090147076 A1 US20090147076 A1 US 20090147076A1 US 31568608 A US31568608 A US 31568608A US 2009147076 A1 US2009147076 A1 US 2009147076A1
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- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
- A61B—DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION
- A61B1/00—Instruments for performing medical examinations of the interior of cavities or tubes of the body by visual or photographical inspection, e.g. endoscopes; Illuminating arrangements therefor
- A61B1/04—Instruments for performing medical examinations of the interior of cavities or tubes of the body by visual or photographical inspection, e.g. endoscopes; Illuminating arrangements therefor combined with photographic or television appliances
- A61B1/042—Instruments for performing medical examinations of the interior of cavities or tubes of the body by visual or photographical inspection, e.g. endoscopes; Illuminating arrangements therefor combined with photographic or television appliances characterised by a proximal camera, e.g. a CCD camera
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- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
- A61B—DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION
- A61B1/00—Instruments for performing medical examinations of the interior of cavities or tubes of the body by visual or photographical inspection, e.g. endoscopes; Illuminating arrangements therefor
- A61B1/00002—Operational features of endoscopes
- A61B1/00043—Operational features of endoscopes provided with output arrangements
- A61B1/00045—Display arrangement
- A61B1/0005—Display arrangement combining images e.g. side-by-side, superimposed or tiled
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- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
- A61B—DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION
- A61B1/00—Instruments for performing medical examinations of the interior of cavities or tubes of the body by visual or photographical inspection, e.g. endoscopes; Illuminating arrangements therefor
- A61B1/00064—Constructional details of the endoscope body
- A61B1/00071—Insertion part of the endoscope body
- A61B1/0008—Insertion part of the endoscope body characterised by distal tip features
- A61B1/00096—Optical elements
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- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
- A61B—DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION
- A61B1/00—Instruments for performing medical examinations of the interior of cavities or tubes of the body by visual or photographical inspection, e.g. endoscopes; Illuminating arrangements therefor
- A61B1/00163—Optical arrangements
- A61B1/00174—Optical arrangements characterised by the viewing angles
- A61B1/00181—Optical arrangements characterised by the viewing angles for multiple fixed viewing angles
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
- H04N23/00—Cameras or camera modules comprising electronic image sensors; Control thereof
- H04N23/50—Constructional details
- H04N23/55—Optical parts specially adapted for electronic image sensors; Mounting thereof
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
- H04N23/00—Cameras or camera modules comprising electronic image sensors; Control thereof
- H04N23/50—Constructional details
- H04N23/555—Constructional details for picking-up images in sites, inaccessible due to their dimensions or hazardous conditions, e.g. endoscopes or borescopes
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
- H04N23/00—Cameras or camera modules comprising electronic image sensors; Control thereof
- H04N23/60—Control of cameras or camera modules
- H04N23/698—Control of cameras or camera modules for achieving an enlarged field of view, e.g. panoramic image capture
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Abstract
A wide angle HDTV endoscope includes at least two optical imaging channels. Lenses close each channel at the distal end of the endoscope. The imaging channels each have a different field of view in complementary directions, and have overlapping or cross-over field of view areas. Received images are transmitted along the longitudinal axis of the imaging channels of the endoscope to a camera head that contains a wide screen image sensing device. An external light source provides the required lighting and an image processing device can provide necessary software algorithms to format the images and to control any overlapping or cross-over field of view areas to obtain a single display image. In another arrangement, optical blocking elements provided at the proximal end of the endoscope or within the imaging channels eliminate portions of one or more images from the imaging channels so that at the cross-over areas only a single image is provided to the imaging device.
Description
- This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/007,002, filed Dec. 10, 2007, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
- This invention relates to the endoscopy field, and primarily endoscopes used in minimally invasive surgeries. This invention allows a true wide screen endoscopic image to be created that is sent to a display screen to provide a 16:9 aspect ratio HDTV image with a wide angle view that shows more of an observed surface of an anatomical structure to viewers.
- In today's minimally invasive surgeries, imaging devices are used to help a surgeon visualize the interior of a patient's body. Depending on the type of procedure, an endoscope is typically inserted into the patient's abdominal area, knee joint, shoulder joint or some other part of the body that requires surgical treatment. As shown in prior art
FIG. 1 , theendoscope 12 is usually connected at its proximal end to acamera 14 which is connected to animage processing device 16 either via a connectingcable 18 or wirelessly through a radio frequency transmitter and receiver (not shown). Thecamera 14 usually contains image sensors, such as CCD, CMOS or other kinds of imaging devices. As shown inFIG. 1 , anexternal light source 20 is also usually connected to theendoscope 12 by a fiberoptic cable 22. Theprocessing device 16 andlight source 20 are shown onshelf unit 23. - As shown in
FIG. 2 , theendoscopes 12 used in today's minimally invasive surgeries have a circularouter shield 24 and a circularoptical system 26 inside theouter shield 24 to transmit an image from adistal end 28 to aproximal end 30. Theouter shield 24 is typically stainless steel or a flexible plastic material. The circularoptical system 26 generally is either a series of rigid rod lenses or a flexible optical fiber inserted along the longitudinal axis of theendoscope 12. These endoscopes have not changed much over the last decade or so in terms of the way they pick up and transmit an image of a target object from thedistal end 28 of theendoscope 12 through theoptical system 26 and anoptics coupler 34 toimage sensors 36 of thecamera 14 at theproximal end 30 of theendoscope 12. The circularoptical system 26 views objects in the field ofview 38 as shown inFIG. 2 . An image enters thedistal end 38 of theendoscope 12 and travels through circularoptical system 26 andoptics coupler 34 to theimage sensor 36 at theproximal end 30 of the endoscope. Fiberoptic cable 22 provides light fromlight source 20 to a light transmittingoptic fiber 40 that outputs illuminating light at thedistal end 28 of theendoscope 12. While a singleoptic fiber 40 is shown, a plurality of optic fibers may output light at thedistal end 28 of theendoscope 12. - Prior art endoscopes are initially designed to be used with imaging elements of standard definition (SD) aspect ratio. Such an aspect ratio is also known as 4:3 or 5:4, which is the fraction of the horizontal width of a video image to the vertical height of the image on a display device. Imaging technology and consumer demand, however, have significantly changed recently and the aspect ratio requirement for such endoscope video systems has shifted from the standard definition (SD) aspect ratio to wide screen (also known as high definition (HD) aspect ratio which is typically a width to height ratio of 16:9.
- In addition to a wider aspect ratio, advancements in imaging technology have led to higher native acquisition resolutions in both interlaced and progressive scanning modes. Interlaced or progressive scanning usually refers to the way an image is acquired by the image sensor. If the horizontal lines of image are scanned one after another consecutively, then the system is called a progressive scan system. If the horizontal lines of image are scanned by skipping every other line in the first scan followed by a second scan to scan the skipped lines, then the system is called an interlaced scanning system. Whether an interlaced or a progressive scan, the HD resolution includes at least one of the following three well known standards: 1280×720p, 1920×1080i, and 1920×1080p, where i stands for interlaced and p stands for progressive. Although these three formats may have different horizontal and vertical lines of resolution, they all maintain a 16:9 horizontal to vertical aspect ratio. Also known as HDTV standards, these three standards are perceived to show more picture and better picture quality on a display screen. Typically, however, progressive scan systems provide a superior image quality compared to interlaced scan systems. Movies and sports events primarily benefit from these HDTV standards, especially the progressive scan ones, which give a unique viewing angle and feel to their viewers.
- Since the imaging and display technologies have advanced from standard definition (SD) resolutions (with 4:3 or 5:4 aspect ratio) to high definition (HD) resolutions (with 16:9 aspect ratio), almost all consumer-grade imaging equipment has shifted over to using a 16:9 aspect ratio. The same technological change has also been affecting the medical markets including endoscopic imaging equipment. The image sensor devices (primarily CCD and CMOS sensors or devices performing a similar function) and the displays (LCDs and plasma screens) have slowly shifted toward a 16:9 aspect ratio in endoscopic imaging applications.
- Existing scopes, as used with the existing 4:3 aspect ratio imaging sensors as described above, cause significant loss of viewing area as shown in
FIG. 3 . Themagnified scope image 42 shown inFIG. 3 covers and extends beyond the usable surface area of the generallyrectangular imaging device 44 due to the simple geometrical mismatch of the endoscope's circular optical element with a rectangular 4:3 aspect ratio imaging element. Thus, this arrangement shows a problem that already existed with 4:3 aspectratio imaging elements 44. The mismatch, however, becomes much more unacceptable and undesirable with the use of aHD imaging device 46 having a 16:9 aspect ratio as shown inFIG. 4 . Although a 16:9rectangular imaging device 46 can cover more of the scope'scircular image 42 from side to side as compared to a 4:3 imaging device, the 16:9imaging device 46 receives much less of the scope'scircular image 42 vertically upwardly and downwardly compared to the 4:3imaging device 44 as shown by comparison ofFIG. 4 withFIG. 3 . In other words, animaging device 46 having a 16:9 aspect ratio does not maximize the amount of acircular image 42 that can be viewed from an endoscope imaging arrangement. Instead, less of the vertical portions of theimage 42 are viewable. This invention offers a solution to minimize or eliminate the problem. - One device that addresses the problem is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,498,884 to Colvin, et al., whose disclosure is incorporated herein by reference. In the '884 system, multiple rectangular optical channels (lens elements) are used to create an overall rectangular lens system. This arrangement also requires all sides of the individual rectangular lenses to be coated or blackened to minimize glare and refractive errors. Besides the excessively high cost of manufacturing rectangular lenses, such designs usually continue to have optical image quality problems due to the natural corners of the rectangular lens elements no matter what kind of coating is provided for the rectangular lenses. In fact, perfectly coating such lens corners in practical systems is almost impossible. The invention described herein does not require any of the above special requirements and uses readily available rounded optical rod elements and optical fibers or the like.
- Another wide viewing endoscope is taught in U.S. Patent Publication 2006/0235276 A1. The '276 publication discloses an endoscope having a plurality of illumination lenses and one objective viewing lens having a wide angle.
- The invention relates to a wide viewing angle endoscope having at least two rounded optical imaging channels for sensing images and providing the images to an image sensor. The invention fits the images from the imaging channels to a rectangular image sensor to increase the field of view of the endoscope.
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FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a prior art endoscope system utilized in an operating-room setting. -
FIG. 2 shows the prior art endoscope illustrated inFIG. 1 . -
FIG. 3 shows an image from an endoscope projected on a rectangular image sensor having a 4:3 aspect ratio. -
FIG. 4 shows an image from an endoscope projected on a rectangular high definition imaging sensor having a 16:9 aspect ratio. -
FIG. 5 shows a longitudinal side view of an endoscope system according to the invention. -
FIG. 6 shows an enlarged front end view of the distal tip end of the endoscope ofFIG. 5 . -
FIG. 7 shows an enlarged top view of the distal tip end of the endoscope ofFIG. 5 . -
FIG. 8 shows a cross-sectional view of the tip end of the endoscope taken at 8-8 inFIG. 6 . -
FIG. 9 shows a perspective view of the endoscope ofFIG. 5 . -
FIG. 10 shows an enlarged perspective view of the proximal end of the endoscope ofFIG. 5 and the areas of images projecting therefrom. -
FIG. 11 shows the images from the proximal end of the endoscope projected onto an image sensor. -
FIG. 12 shows a front view of the distal end tip of another embodiment of the endoscope. -
FIG. 13 shows an enlarged front end view of another embodiment of the endoscope. -
FIG. 14 shows a cross-sectional view of the tip end of the endoscope taken at 14-14 ofFIG. 13 . -
FIG. 15 shows an enlarged top end view of the distal tip end of another embodiment of the endoscope. -
FIG. 16 shows the images projected from the proximal end of the endoscope onto an image sensor. -
FIG. 17 shows the rotatable images from the proximal end of the endoscope projected onto an image sensor. -
FIG. 18 shows another embodiment having four images from the proximal end of the endoscope projected onto an image sensor. - Certain terminology will be used in the following description for convenience in reference only, and will not be limiting. For example, the words “upwardly”, “downwardly”, “rightwardly” and “leftwardly” will refer to directions in the drawings to which reference is made. The words “inwardly” and “outwardly” will refer to directions toward and away from, respectively, the geometric center of the tool arrangement and designated parts thereof. The words “forwardly” and “distally” will refer to the direction toward the end of the tool arrangement which is closest to the patient, and the words “rearwardly” and “proximally” will refer to the direction away from the end of the tool arrangement which is furthest from the patient. Said terminology will include the words specifically mentioned, derivatives thereof, and words of similar import.
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FIGS. 5-9 illustrate one embodiment of the invention. In this embodiment, thedistal tip end 48 of theendoscope 50 has a flat circular tip and is rounded or tapered in a longitudinal direction to join with a cylindrical portion of theendoscope 50. As in the prior art, the endoscopic system includes afiber optic cable 22 connected to externallight source 20. Alens coupler 51 is provided at the proximal end of theendoscope 50. Further, the system includes acamera 14 having animage sensor 46 connected by acable 18 to animage processing device 49. - A front view of the
distal tip end 48 of theimaging endoscope 50 is shown inFIG. 6 . Thetip end 48 includes a first frontwardly directedcentral lens 52 and second and third sidewardly orientedlenses center lens 52. Whilelenses FIG. 6 , thelenses central lens 52. InFIG. 7 , thelenses central lens 52. The lenses are oriented and shaped so thatcentral lens 52 has a central field of view θ1 projecting longitudinally outwardly from thedistal tip end 48 of theendoscope 50.Lens 56 has a field of view θ2 as shown inFIG. 7 , andlens 54 has a field of view defined by θ3 inFIG. 7 . The fields of view θ2, θ3 have the same size and are symmetric with respect to alongitudinal axis 57 of theendoscope 50. -
FIG. 7 also shows an overlap or cross-over in the fields of view θ2, θ3 of theside lenses central lens 52. InFIG. 7 the overlap of the field of view oflenses lenses - The
lenses - Returning to
FIG. 6 , in one embodiment the surface at thedistal tip end 48 of theendoscope 50, not including thelenses fiber optics 58 are connected to thelight source 20. Light projecting outwardly from thefiber optics 58 provides illumination so that thelenses - The cross-sectional view of
FIG. 8 shows correspondingimage channels image receiving lenses imaging channels cylindrical walls 68. Theimaging channels endoscope 50 and open at theproximal end 70 of the endoscope.Openings proximal end 70 inFIG. 9 correspond to theimaging channels FIG. 5 , in one embodiment theimaging channels optical coupler 51 to provide images to theimaging device 46. -
Light source 20 provides light that passes throughfiber optics 58 and outwardly from thedistal tip end 48 of theendoscope 50 to illuminate an anatomical structure in a patient's body. Reflected light images pass through thelenses distal tip end 48 of theendoscope 50 and into theimaging channels FIG. 8 . The images pass through theimaging channels FIG. 10 ) to form correspondingimages Image 82 is the central image.FIG. 11 shows how theimages ratio imaging device 46 of acamera 14. Theimage sensor 46 converts the images to electrical signals. The electrical signals are provided to theimage processing device 49. - In
FIG. 11 , the projectedimages image sensor 46, but also contain overlappingregions side images side imaging channels central image 82. - In a first embodiment of the invention, the overlap or cross-over of the images in
regions elements 90 in thelens coupler 51 as shown inFIG. 5 . Theoptical blocking elements 90 can comprise secondary optics, mechanical stoppers, mechanical blockers, or optical image stoppers located at theproximal end 70 of theendoscope 50 for eliminating the image from one or more of theimaging channels cross-over areas device 46 is then sent to theimage processing device 49 and forwarded to a video display. - While the blocking
elements 90 are a part of thelens coupler 51 at theproximal end 70 of theendoscope 50 inFIG. 5 , in some embodiments the blocking elements are located within one or more of thechannels - In another embodiment of the invention, the
image processing device 49 connected to thecamera 14 processes the scannedimages image sensor 46 and utilizes image correction algorithms or software filters to eliminate the effect of the multiple images applied in thecross-over areas camera 14. - The above embodiments prevent blurry outcomes when two images are mapped over one another in the
cross-over areas adjacent channels distal tip end 48 of theendoscope 50. - While the
lenses FIG. 6 are all circular relative to the surrounding surface of thedistal tip end 48, in some embodiments thelenses imaging channels image sensor 46 is completely enclosed by theimages lenses imaging channels image sensor 46 is illustrated as a single rectangular element inFIGS. 5 and 11 , plural elements, such as three elements defining a rectangular shape are also contemplated. -
FIG. 12 shows another embodiment of theendoscope 50.FIG. 12 corresponds to thedistal tip end 48 illustrated inFIG. 6 havinglenses distal tip end 48, however, areadditional lenses lens - The endoscope of
FIG. 12 is rotatable relative to theimaging device 46 of thecamera 14. When rotated 90°, thecentral lens 52 transfers an image through theimaging channel 62. This results from theadditional lenses lenses images endoscope 50 as shown inFIG. 11 . Thus, a cross-sectional view of the distal end taken in a perpendicular plane across the channels oflenses FIG. 8 . -
FIGS. 13 and 14 show another embodiment of theendoscope 50. In this embodiment thecircular lenses distal tip end 48 of theendoscope 50. Thus thetip end 48 has a cylindrical shape. Thelenses FIGS. 7 and 9 . Further, in some embodiments the fields of view need not extend sidewardly and outwardly to the extent of the fields of view θ2 and θ3 inFIG. 7 . -
FIGS. 15 and 16 show an additional embodiment of theendoscope 50.FIG. 15 showsside lenses distal tip end 48 of the endoscope. No central lens is present in this embodiment. Illuminating fibers 58 (only some of which are shown) are provided on the surface at thedistal tip end 48 of the endoscope, except for thelenses fiber optics 58 are connected to alight source 20 and project light outwardly from thedistal end 48 of the endoscope. The light provides illumination so that theendoscope 50 may view an anatomical structure in the interior of a patient's body. - As in the earlier embodiments, reflected light images pass through the
lenses distal tip end 48 of the endoscope and into imaging channels (not shown). The images pass through the imaging channels and are refocused by a lens coupler to form correspondingimages FIG. 16 . The projectedimages cross-over areas region 128, the three images completely overlap each other. Theimages image sensor 46. In this embodiment, theimages endoscope 50 are fixed relative to theimage sensor 46. - In one embodiment, optical blocking
elements 90 block portions of theimages cross-over areas image sensor 46 shown inFIG. 16 receives a single image thereon without overlapping images. - In another embodiment, the
image processing device 49 can include image correction algorithms or software filters instead of blockingelements 90 to eliminate the effect of the multiple images applied in thecross-over areas triple cross-over area 128. - In another embodiment shown in
FIG. 17 , theendoscope 50 is rotatable relative to theimage sensor 46 of thecamera 14. Rotation of theendoscope 50, and thus the correspondingimages images image sensor 46 within the dashedcircle line 129 no matter what the angle of rotation is. This embodiment allows the orientation of the processed image viewed on a display screen to remain viewable during the entire rotation of theendoscope 50. As in the earlier described embodiments, blocking elements or image correction algorithms eliminate the effect of the overlapping images incross-over areas - While the embodiments of
FIGS. 15-17 show three essentially circular shapedimages distal tip end 48 of an endoscope. The four lenses provide fourimages FIG. 18 that project from the proximal end of the endoscope onto animage sensor 46. - In
FIG. 18 , the projectedimages cross-over areas central point 148, theimages circle line 150 inFIG. 18 shows the innermost position of the outer edges of theimages image sensor 46 during rotation of the endoscope. Thus theimages image sensor 46 during rotation of the endoscope. - While an
optical coupler 51 is disclosed, in some embodiments individual refocusing lenses or blockers are provided at theapertures FIG. 10 embodiment as a substitute for the coupler. Other embodiments of the invention may also use this arrangement. - While various arrangements with different corresponding lenses for the
endoscope 50 are shown in the above embodiments, in an additional embodiment a pair of imaging lenses with a pair of corresponding imaging channels extending through the endoscope provide two images that cover the entire surface of animaging sensor 46. The imaging lenses preferably are equidistant from thelongitudinal axis 57 of the endoscope. An overlapping area or cross-over region of the two images can be blocked, removed or accounted for by anoptic coupler 51 having a blocking element or by an algorithm or software filter in animage processing device 49 as discussed above with respect to other embodiments. - The
endoscope 50 can have a plurality of channels. Theendoscope 50 preferably includes from two to five imaging channels, and most preferably threeimaging channels - While the imaging channels are shown as circular cylindrical shaped channels, the channels may be rounded and provided with elliptical shapes or other shapes. As discussed above, however, a square or rectangular shape for the image channels is generally undesirable.
- In some embodiments the
lenses corresponding image channels - While
FIG. 5 shows an externallight source 20 providing light tofiber optics 58, in some embodiments LEDs within theendoscope 50 provide illuminating light to thedistal end 48 throughfiber optics 58. In other embodiments each LED provides light to a plurality offiber optics 58 or the like. Further, in some embodiments LEDs are provided at thedistal tip end 48 of the endoscope. - In another embodiment, a
transmitter 99 shown in broken line inFIG. 5 and located within the camera, sends a wireless signal of the sensed images. In one embodiment, the wireless signals are RF signals. In other embodiments, wireless signals are ultra-wide band (WWB), WiFi signals or the like. Areceiver 100 illustrated in broken line within theimage processing device 49 inFIG. 5 receives the wireless signals. Thus, in this embodiment thecable 18 is not required. - The above described embodiments provide a high definition panoramic image for a display generally having an aspect ratio of 16:9.
- Although particular preferred embodiments of the invention are disclosed in detail for illustrative purposes, it will be recognized that variations or modifications of the disclosed apparatus, including the rearrangement of parts, lie within the scope of the present invention.
Claims (22)
1. An elongate wide viewing angle endoscope having a proximal end and a distal end comprising:
at least two rounded optical imaging channels at a distal end of said endoscope;
an image sensor arrangement for sensing rounded images provided by the rounded optical imaging channels; and
an image processing device for receiving an output from the image sensor arrangement.
2. The endoscope of claim 1 , wherein the imaging channels comprise rod lens systems.
3. The endoscope of claim 1 , wherein the imaging channels comprise fiber optic systems.
4. The endoscope of claim 1 , wherein each said imaging channel has a different angle of view with respect to a longitudinal axis of the endoscope.
5. The endoscope of claim 1 , wherein said imaging channels have fields of view that define at least one cross-over area whereat the rounded image from a first one of said imaging channels overlaps the rounded image from a second one of said imaging channels.
6. The endoscope of claim 5 , including at least a third said rounded optical imaging channel, wherein said image processing device obtains a third said rounded image from said third imaging channel that overlaps the first and second images at a portion of the cross-over area so that three overlapping images are provided thereat, the processing device removing two of the three images at the portion of the cross-over area.
7. The endoscope of claim 5 , further including an optic coupler having at least one of secondary optics, mechanical stoppers, mechanical blockers, and optical image stoppers for eliminating the image of at least one of said imaging channels at the at least one cross-over area to provide a view utilizing only one image at the cross-over area to the image sensor arrangement.
8. The endoscope of claim 1 , wherein said imaging channels have a circular or elliptical shape along a length thereof and said image sensor arrangement has a rectangular shape with a 16:9 aspect ratio for receiving the rounded images from the imaging channels.
9. The endoscope of claim 1 , wherein said optical imaging channels extend from the distal end to the proximal end of the endoscope.
10. The endoscope of claim 9 , wherein said image sensor arrangement comprises a camera located at the proximal end of said endoscope for receiving the images from said optical imaging channels.
11. The endoscope of claim 1 , including a light source located within the endoscope.
12. The endoscope of claim 1 , wherein said image processing device includes means for receiving electrical signals from imaging sensors of said image sensor arrangement, said imaging sensors comprising at least one of CCD, CMOS or other imaging elements.
13. The endoscope of claim 1 , wherein the distal tip end of said endoscope has a flat surface oriented transverse to a longitudinal axis of the endoscope to provide a cylindrical shape.
14. The endoscope of claim 1 , wherein the image sensor arrangement is located at or adjacent the distal end of the endoscope.
15. The endoscope of claim 13 , wherein the imaging channels extend essentially parallel with a longitudinal axis of the endoscope from the distal end to the proximal end of the endoscope.
16. The endoscope of claim 1 , including a display for receiving a high definition rectangular image having an aspect ratio of 16:9 from the image processing device.
17. The endoscope of claim 1 , wherein the imaging channels comprise at least three said imaging channels aligned parallel to each other, the imaging channels opening in a row across the distal tip end so that a combined field of view for the rounded images from the imaging channels form overlapping concentric patterns.
18. The endoscope of claim 1 , wherein the images sensed by said image sensor arrangement from at least two said rounded optical imaging channels are combined by said image processing device to provide a field of view angle that is wider than the field of view angle from any one said image sensed by any one of the imaging channels.
19. The endoscope of claim 5 , wherein the image processing device includes image correction algorithms for eliminating all portions of the rounded images at the cross-over area except one said image from one of said imaging channels to display a single display image formed by the images from the imaging channels.
20. The endoscope of claim 1 , wherein said endoscope includes no more than five of said rounded optical imaging channels.
21. The endoscope of claim 1 , including a transmitter for receiving the rounded images from the image sensor arrangement and transmitting the rounded images, and a receiver for receiving the rounded images from the transmitter and providing the rounded images to the image processing device.
22. The endoscope of claim 1 , wherein the endoscope is rotatable relative to the image sensor arrangement.
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US12/315,686 US8360964B2 (en) | 2007-12-10 | 2008-12-05 | Wide angle HDTV endoscope |
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US700207P | 2007-12-10 | 2007-12-10 | |
US12/315,686 US8360964B2 (en) | 2007-12-10 | 2008-12-05 | Wide angle HDTV endoscope |
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WO2012077116A1 (en) * | 2010-12-09 | 2012-06-14 | Peermedical Ltd. | Flexible electronic circuit board for a multi-camera endoscope |
US20130021466A1 (en) * | 2011-07-21 | 2013-01-24 | Photon Dynamics, Inc. | Apparatus for viewing through optical thin film color filters and their overlaps |
US20140330078A1 (en) * | 2013-05-03 | 2014-11-06 | Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. | Endoscope and image processing apparatus using the same |
US8926502B2 (en) | 2011-03-07 | 2015-01-06 | Endochoice, Inc. | Multi camera endoscope having a side service channel |
US9101287B2 (en) | 2011-03-07 | 2015-08-11 | Endochoice Innovation Center Ltd. | Multi camera endoscope assembly having multiple working channels |
US9101266B2 (en) | 2011-02-07 | 2015-08-11 | Endochoice Innovation Center Ltd. | Multi-element cover for a multi-camera endoscope |
US9101268B2 (en) | 2009-06-18 | 2015-08-11 | Endochoice Innovation Center Ltd. | Multi-camera endoscope |
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